26, never been employed. How to explain in interview?

[izimbra]

I've been able to manage my anxiety enough to apply for positions, but if I do get an interview it's likely I'll be asked why I've never had a real job. I don't have a good reason besides my SA and I can't think of how I would put a creative spin on that. Has anyone dealt with a similar situation or have ideas for me?

Thanks for reading, everyone.

 

[lucifersam]

There's a number of things you could tell them in an interview, depending on how deep they want to look into it. If it's a minimum wage job or something similar, they usually don't have the time or the care to go through your background beyond checking your criminal record. In that situation, you could tell them something like you were helping out with a family business. If you have a hobby or something you could say is the "family business" that works - just something you can tell them about if they ask. Maybe that you washed dishes and took orders at a restaurant your parents owned, until they went out of business. If you were in school for any of that time, be sure to mention that. Maybe you had to take care of a sick family member or nephews or something. It might not necessarily need to be a "real job", just whatever you can come up with that's believable, something that would make it sound like you've been active.

 

[izimbra]

Thanks for the advice! I really appreciate it. I'm not used to lying at all, so I'm really gonna have to think of something plausible.

 

[ImNotMyIllness]

Thanks for the advice! I really appreciate it. I'm not used to lying at all, so I'm really gonna have to think of something plausible.

I guess you could be honest. If I were an employer, I would be impressed that someone is in the process of overcoming their biggest fear. Then you could pivot and discuss your strengths and why you would be a great fit to their business.

 

[The Observer]

Honesty is the best policy. Be straight up

 

[ONline87_15793]

I've been able to manage my anxiety enough to apply for positions, but if I do get an interview it's likely I'll be asked why I've never had a real job. I don't have a good reason besides my SA and I can't think of how I would put a creative spin on that. Has anyone dealt with a similar situation or have ideas for me?

Thanks for reading, everyone.

how did you spent your time in last 8 years? start from that!

 

[SCP-087-1]

Tell an inspiring story about how you conquered your SA. Even if it's not entirely true. I was in the exact same situation a while back. I got an interview and they asked about my large gap in employment. I told them about my SA and briefly explained how exactly it prevented me from doing stuff. I went on to say that I worked hard to over come it. I told them I'm still a bit shy sometimes but my SA doesn't effect me in my day to day life anymore. In reality I do still have SA and it does effect me but people like a story about overcoming obstacles.

Practice talking about it in a mirror or something. You feel a bit silly doing it but it helps. And practice different ways of explaining it. Because chances are you will have to go off script a bit in the actual interview (You might be short on time or they might ask you to elaborate on some parts of the story or something)

If you get the job don't just withdraw into your shell again. Try your hardest to put yourself out there and be confident. Fake it. I found that having a job and pretending to be confident did help my SA. I use to be way worse.

If it's actually true and you have over come your SA then hey that's great but if not then fake it till you make it.

 

[Sacrament]

There was a three year gap between the time I finished high school and my first resumé-related activity (volunteer work). For that particular time period, I made stuff up for my resumé, and added volunteer work I didn't really do. For a bigger time slot, you can either do something similar for a few of those years, or tell possible employers that you worked "unoficially" for a family business, or similar.

 

[Bronson99]

Complete honesty is honorable, but unlikely to work for this kind of thing.

For those who suggested mentioning SA, I don't recommend that. I asked a friend once about mentioning my ADD in a job interview--it's the reason I learn so damn slowly and have trouble with certain things, well in addition to SA--and he just straight up told me "you won't get that job." He's been to a lot of job interviews, so he knows about those things.

 

[ryan2022]

I agree with most of the above comments.

I see both sides, as I don't like to ever lie, but in situations like this it may be the answer to slightly blur the truth.

I would embellish on your hobbies/activities/side work and use it in your resume. Have something concrete to tell them. It's a dog eat dog world, but don't exaggerate to the point of promising more than you can deliver. Once you're in the door you can blow them away with your work ethic and integrity. You'll never look back!

I'm in the process of a career transition. After 12 years I'm moving on to something different. My resume is a bit patchy, has some serious gaps filled with "contract" work (which is mostly true) It's something that needed to be done to make the transition work for me.

 

[R3K]

honestly, just get through the interview and try to perform well in it. Keep setting up other interviews, even if it's some mcdonalds trash job, and nail them.

if you land a mcdonalds job, just work there for about 6 months, then you can stretch it out on your resumè and say you worked there for several years, multiple locations, etc.

my bosses hire ex-convicts who were jailed when they were 18 years old and served 5+ years in prison. that's your competition.

 

[AlienGeranium]

You could just say you were focused on other things, and go into as much or little detail as you want. Maybe change the subject and focus on the future, saying where you want to be as opposed to where you've been. I think Job interviews are supposed to be like presidential debates, where you always spin your answer into being something positive. You're not inexperienced, you're a fresh, clean slate with nothing to unlearn from past jobs. Because of this you're willing to work harder to prove yourself, and go above and beyond to earn your spot. OR maybe bring up some sort of advantage you may have by not working all that time. Maybe you have a good life philosophy or have found yourself or something like that. Make them think you haven't just sat around for 8 years doing nothing. Sell yourself!

 

[Odo]

In your situation, I would say don't lie, but exaggerate.
And if you want experience, there's always volunteer work.

 

[lucifersam]

A lot of people have come in here with "honesty is the best policy" sorta advice, I almost mentioned that in my original post cause I figured that would come up at some point. The truth is honesty is not always the best policy if your goal is getting a job. The situation is more complex than that. Of course there's some things you don't want to lie about... if you have a criminal record, they're going to find out when they run a background check. If you tell them you speak Spanish and you don't, they'll find out when a Spanish speaking customer walks in. But as far as telling them about social phobia? That is something that needs to be left out.

The point of a job interview is for the employer to pass a judgement on you, so they are going to be judgmental. If they can find a reason to disqualify you they will, and any kind of mental issue is a huge reason. They're going to start thinking about "Is he going to flip out on a customer one day? Will he be able to get along with other employees? How much money is this guy going to cost on the company's insurance plan for psychiatrist visits?" They probably don't know what social phobia is, much less understand it. and they aren't going to take the time to learn about it in a job interview.

With the way the job market is now, they have dozens of applicants to choose from. Whatever justification they can find to cut down that number, they will use. A lot of hiring managers will see a 5-year work gap on your application and won't even consider you, you get no chance for an explanation. If you manage to make it as far as an interview you better have some positive way to explain the work gap, and "I have a mental disorder." isn't going to cut it.

Real talk... honkhonk

 

[Sacrament]

Yeah, if you tell them it was because of social phobia they'll see you as someone who's weak (because you couldn't handle life for all those years) and unreliable (because one day you might be doing some task at work and suddenly you panic and there's no work getting done, which is what they care about the most).

 

[HexNoir]

If I was too scared to be honest, I'd use a blanket term like 'anxiety issues'. Maybe not everyone can relate to social phobia, but almost everyone knows what anxiety issues are like.

 

[Sacrament]

Everyone has 'anxiety issues', though, even the people who are interviewing him. It's still not an excuse. Life's about how well you handle pressure, anxiety/stress, and change.

 

[Bronson99]

Everyone has 'anxiety issues', though, even the people who are interviewing him. It's still not an excuse. Life's about how well you handle pressure, anxiety/stress, and change.

What if you don't handle those nearly as well as most people, though?

In a job interview, is it correct to imply the opposite--that you're a people person and love change--when it's utterly misleading?

 

[Sacrament]

If you don't handle those things like most people do, then you have to toughen up, grow some backbone. Life's tough, job interviews are tough, most jobs involve situations that'll put you under pressure, and then you have bills, car insurance, things breaking down at the house, etc.

At a job interview, you need to give employers what they want to hear. They don't want you to tell them anything that can imply that you're unreliable. All they care about is that the person they hire is capable of filling that position and getting the job done. This is why you should do some research on a company before you go in for an interview. If you know what they do, you can manipulate your speech in a way that makes them know/believe that your skills are what they need, otherwise they'll just pick someone else, someone who's more confident, more capable, more ready to handle whatever the job brings.

 

[Bronson99]

If you don't handle those things like most people do, then you have to toughen up, grow some backbone. Life's tough, job interviews are tough, most jobs involve situations that'll put you under pressure, and then you have bills, car insurance, things breaking down at the house, etc.

No, I understand all this and agree. I've been employed before, I know how it is.

But I don't like the possible implication you're making here (correct me if wrong) that it's someone's fault for having social anxiety or excessive shyness, whatever.